Ballasting car



IG.B.DOREY BALLASTING CAR July 27, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 9,1949 /NvE/\/ TOR qzakqe 5. DORE) M W /7 ATTORNEY G. B. DOREY BALLASTINGCAR July 27, 1954' 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 9. 1949 llvvew T Reo/e495 3130/25) J y 2 1954 G. B. DOREY 2,684,642

' BALLASTING CAR Filed March 9, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 //v VEN T aR 550K42 B. DARE? Y ff/s ATTORNEY weight.

Patented July 27, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BALLASTING CARApplication March 9, 1949, Serial No. 80,438

8 Claims.

My invention relates to an improved ballasting car and an object of theinvention is to provide a car having dump doors so arranged that initialdischarge of the load will operate to deposit ballast adjacent the railsand whereby the piles of ballast build u away from the rails as dooropenings are increased.

It is a particular object of my invention to accomplish the desiredresult by the use of V- shaped hoppers located directly above the railsand having each side of the hopper formed of doors respectively hingedat the top and bottom of the hopper and whereby the lower of said doorsoperates to shield the rails from the lading.

It is also an object of my invention to provide an improved door liftingand lowering link mechanism for coordinating the operation of the upperand lower doors whereby the swinging action of said doors is so adjustedthat the upper door moves to closed position in advance of the lowerdoor and is supported thereby in final closed position.

My invention further resides in certain details such as will be morefully pointed out hereinafter.

My invention is by way of an improvement on my former construction asshown in United States Patent No. 1,706,353 of March 19, 1929, whereinis shown a dump car having V-shaped hoppers each having double doors andparticularly arranged for depositing a large hea of ballast between therails with the initial discharge of lading operating to lay a pile ofballast centrally of the rails. In said previous type of car theconstruction necessitated the employment of hoppers disposed at aconsiderable elevation above the rails resulting in restricted loadcapacity and requiring large and heavy doors with baflie extensionsthereon.

My improvements, as disclosed herein, overcome the disadvantages of myprevious construction in that I place the V-shaped hoppers well down inthe car structure and dispense with the use of supplementary bafliingextensions on the doors. My improved construction also provides for easeof operation in that the main door area is included in the uppervertically swinging doors. The lower doors, which must necessarily belifted, are of comparatively small area and of light inforcement islocalized adjacent the hinge axis of the door.

For further comprehension of my invention ref erence may be had to theaccompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. l is. a transverse vertical sectional view The main weight of thelower door retaken through the lower portion of a ballasting car havingmy improvements.

Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken through the lowerportion of a hopper adjacent the end of a hopper showing an end view ofthe hopper structure.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the end of the hopper shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a vertical side elevational view of the lower portion of ahopper car showing as much of the car as necessary to show a completehopper.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken through one of the hopperdoors showing the doors as positioned when flow of lading commences.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 except that the lower door hasassumed a position below a horizontal plane and in a position to dribblethe lading.

Fig. 7 is another view similar to Fig. 6 showing the lower door inclinedsufiiciently to allow lading to discharge freely over the edge of thelower door and the size of the discharge opening being controlled by theswinging edge of the upper door.

Fig. 8 .is another view similar to that shown in Figs. 5-7 inclusiveshowing the lower door in fully opened position and with the swingingedge of the upper door moved away from the edge of the lower door.

Fig. 9 is a vertical transverse sectional view on an enlarged scaletaken through a side door and on a line corresponding substantially to aline 9-9 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged vertical side view of the end of the hopper.

Fig. 11 is a vertical sectional view taken through the hopper andcorresponding substantially to Fig. 9 except that the flexibleconnection and mechanism links for the doors are shown in full aspositioned with the flexible connection and link associated with theside door taut and the side door leading in advance of the lower door.Fig. 11 also illustrates in conventional dot and dash lines the positionassumed by the links and connection in relation to the doors as thelower door is picked up.

Fig. 12 is a vertical elevational sectional view taken through the idlerpulley and supporting brackets on a line i2-I2 of Fig. 11.

As shown in the drawings, AA denotes the side walls of the car, B-B thesloping end walls of the car, C the longitudinally extending centersill, D the transversely extending beam members spaced from each otherlengthwise of the car,

. doors. sheet metal plate as, Fig. 9, flanged at its upper E thelongitudinally extending V-shaped hoppers disposed on the opposite sidesof the center sill and including upper doors G and lower doors H, J thedoor operating mechanisms for the outer doors of the respective hoppers,K the door operating mechanisms for simultaneously operating the inneror center doors of the respective hoppers, L the wheels of the car, andM the rails on which the car rests.

Each side wall A includes a side sheet is and a lower marginalreinforcing angle i i. Each sloping end wall B includes a floor plate l2which slopes longitudinally of the car and is divided into two sectionsby the center sill to direct lading to the respective longitudinallyextending V-shaped hoppers E. The longitudinally extending center sill Cincludes a pair of beam members I ii4 each having a lower outstandingmarginal flange 16. The center sill C is formed with a surmounting copel? and extending above the lower flange Hi to form load shedding planesare floor plates l8.

Opposite to the inclined floor plate 53 the side floor sheets ac inclinedownwardly towards the longitudinal center sill C and terminate at anappreciable distance therefrom to form in cooperation with a marginalreinforcing bulb angle member 2%; one side of the discharge hopper E.The transversely extending beam members D, Figs. 2 and 3, are flangedoutwardly at their upper and lower margins as indicated at 2! and 22respectively, said flange 2! underlying the end sloping floors and beingsecured thereto by rivets.

Underlying each center sill flange it throughout the length of thehopper is a hopper frame member 23, Fig. l, which is formed with adownwardly inclined sealing plate section 2 and a downwardly disposedflange 25. The said frame member 23 is provided with hinge butts 25 forsupporting the inner pair of upper doors G through the medium of pintles27. The upper outer or side doors G are similarly pivotally supported at2'? on hinge butts 28. The upper side and center doors are of similarconstruction and the description will be confined to one of such Thedoor G is preferably formed of a end at 36 and slotted at 3i for thereception of hinge straps 32. A reinforcing angle shaped member 33extends along the swinging edge of a the door and the straps 32 are bentand secured thereto at 34.

The door G is extended lengthwise to lie between the respectivetransverse beam members D and at each end is formed with a .Z shapedeformation including a wall 35, Fig. 2, disposed substantially normalto the main plane of the door and another wall 38 disposed in angularrelation with respect to the main body of the door and merging therewithadjacent the upper part of the door. As shown in Fig. 1, door G, when inclosed position, assumes an inclined position and in such positionprojects slightly below the transverse beams D.

The lower doors H, which are all of similar construction, are hinged ona common pivotal axis being supported on a longitudinally extending rod31. Each door H is formed of plate 38, Fig. 11, flanged downwardly atits outer margin at 39 and adjacent the hinge end is reinforced by alongitudinally extending beam member 49. Cooperating with said member 46and mounted on rod 3'5 are loop hinges il which in cooperation withsimilar hinges on the companion door provide a continuous hinge. Theplate 38 overhangs 4 the beam 40 an appreciable distance and reinforcingbracket plates 32 are disposed at all locations where overhangingbracing security is required, said brackets being preferably of plateswelded into position. Each door H extends lengthwise beyond theassociated upper door G and beneath the transverse beams D. The supportfor the lower doors at each end thereof preferably consists of a plate43 bent to provide a flange M supported on the flange 22 of thetransverse beam D. Cooperating with said plate 43 and the web of thetransverse beam D are hinge brackets, Fig. 10, each of which includes asection 136 that seats on the flange 44 of the support and verticalsections t? and 48 respectively secured to the web of the beam D and tothe depending plate 53 of the support. The plate 33 acts as a baffle toconfine the lading at the ends of the hoppers and prevent excessiveoverflow.

The lower doors H cooperate with the upper doors G in controlling theflow of the lading and to this end the lower doors are arranged tooverlap the upper doors and to support the same. The supportinglocations are preferably disposed at each hinge strap and at thislocation bearing shoes 69, Fig. 11, are disposed adjacent the swingingedge of the doors G. Said shoes are preferably formed with a curved nose56 to facilitate the riding of the upper door G on the face of the lowerdoor H.

The adjacent lower doors H are movable downwardly to inclined positionsto form a shedding ridge above the rail. They are supported in thisposition by means of a hanger 5|, Fig. 11, pivotally mounted on the doorand extending through a slot 52 in the flange 22 of the transverse beamD. The hanger 5i is formed with a head 53 which contacts the uppersurface of the flange 22 of the beam D.

The doors G and H are raised and lowered by means of mechanisms J forthe side doors and K for the center doors. Said mechanisms are based onthe use of operating shafts located outwardly beyond the hoppers E,there being an operating shaft 54 for each outer door of each hopper anda centrally disposed shaft 55 for simultaneously operating the centerdoors of the respective hoppers.

While the operating shafts E4 and 55 for the side and center doors arelocated in different relation to the hoppers E, the actual mechanism andoperation of each mechanism is the same for each side of the hopper andthe description and mode of operation will be confined to one side of ahopper such as shown in Figs. 9-12 inclusive.

The mechanisms J and K are mounted at the ends of the doors and arehoused in a tunnel like structure formed by extending the sloping endfloors beyond the beam D as at 55 and thence downwardly as at 5? at anappreciable distance from the beams. The edges of said end wall arereinforced by angle members 58 and the upwardly disposed Z-shapedreinforcement formed by walls 35 and 36 lies between said angle member58 and the beam D. The shaft 54 is provided with a winding sheave 59 andextending therefrom to the upper and lower doors is a Y- shapedconnection including a single branch 60 preferably in the form of achain and pivotally united with pivoted rigid link elements 6| and 62which in turn are respectively pivotally connected to the respectivedoors G and H. The operation of the center and side doors is effected ina similar manner except that the winding sheave associated with thecenter doors connects '5 with the pair of center discharging doors forsimultaneous operation of said pair of doors.

The flexible connection 60 leads over an idler pulley 63 which ismounted on a pintle 64 which in turn is mounted by means of brackets 65and 66, the former being mounted to overlie the pulley and extendedupwardly along the side of and above the idler pulley to present sideand top guiding walls 6'5 and 68 for guiding the chain. The bracket 66which is disposed on the opposite side of the beam D from bracket 65 isformed with a base portion 69 secured to the beam and a trunnion T forsupporting the outer end of pintle 64.

The pivotal connection between the chain Gil and the rigid links iseffected through the medium of a clevis H which straddles the respectivelinks and allows for a free jack-knifing effect of the link assembly.

The link assembly preferably consists of a construction employing aheavy link sandwiched between a pair of relatively thin and lighterlinks and in this particular construction I find it desirable to employdouble links 6! for the door G and the single link 52 for the door H.Said double pair of links 6i are located in the Z-shaped offset at theends of the doors G and in order to provide a stable construction anofiset bracket 72 is welded to the vertical flange 35 of the Eat-shapedoffset and thus provides in combination with said flange 35 a pair ofwalls between which the links are disposed, said wall 35 and bracket 72being apertured for the reception of a connecting pivot '53 whichextends through a slot M.

The link 52 is extended through a slotted opening in the door plate 38to lie between a pair of the reinforcing bracket walls 42 and aconnecting pivot 14' extends through said link and walls 132 and alsothrough adjacent similar walls and an end flange 75 of the door H forsupporting the pivotal end of the door hanger The links 62 are limitedin their outward swinging movement by the slotted openings in the doorplates 38 and thus are prevented from knuckling over when the doors areopen.

The operation of the doors and mechanism will be understood by referenceto the various illustrations. Fig. 1 indicates in conventional dot anddash lines the maximum permissible door opening allowed by the links 6!and 62, it being understood that the downward sweep of the link 62 islimited by the slot in the plate 38 through which it extends or by thehanger 5|. The breaking of the knuckle joint between the respectivelinks has the effect of releasing the upper door G and allowing the sameto swing to a vertical position.

A continued upward pull on the chain 60 opcrates to straighten the lineof pull between the chain and upper door G as will be best seen by fulllines in Fig. 11 and further continued takeup movement of the chainpulls the upper door G inwardly to closed position, the lower door Hmeanwhile being retained in its fully opened position until such time asthe said upper door has swung the position indicated by conventional dotand dash lines and the link 62 has swung over as likewise indicated topresent a straight line pull with the flexible connection. Furthertake-up of the chain 60 now has the effect of rapidly efiecting upwardswinging movement of the lower door H to overtake the upper door G asthe doors approach closed position. The overtaking of the upper door Gby the lower door H is accomplished as the doors approach closedposition and the curved nose 50 of the shoes 69 is then engaged by thelower door and the connecting pin 13 then moves upwardly in the slottedapertures 14 of the links 6!. The entire load of both doors is nowtransmitted through the medium of links 62.

The opening action of the doors is a reversal of the above action inthat the lower door H is the leading door and the upper door G thelagging door at the initial opening of the doors and it will be observedby reference to Fig. 58 inclusive that the lower door H swings throughconsiderable range of swinging movement before there is any appreciableflow of lading.

It will be further noted that the initial discharge of lading operatesto deposit ballast adjacent the rails thus avoiding the necessity ofplowing the material from the center of the track in order to divert itto a position near the rails.

The operation of the shafts 54 and 55 is preferably by means of worm andgear mechanisms and cross-shafts, the said mechanism for the side doorsbeing indicated at 75, Fig. l, and for the center doors at T6. Theoperating shafts are journalled in suitable bearings and the said shaftsand their mechanisms are located back of the upper doors and out of thepath of discharging ballast. These locations of the shafts 5' 5 and t5enable the placement of the chains to above the upper side doors G andabove the righthand upper center door G as shown in Figure 1.

My improved construction is highly desirable inasmuch as the loadcarrying capacity of the car is greatly increased due to the dispositionof the V-shaped hoppers E at a low level and the doors G and H arequickly and easily operated on account of the light weight of door masswhich has to be actually lifted.

With the center doors fully opened as indicated in Fig. 2 it will benoted that the ballast is deposited in two distinct heaps as shown byconventional dot and dash lines as indicated by lines it and i9 and thelading is free of the rails.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a railway ballasting car including a v-shaped discharge hopperdisposed above the rail and having a side composed of two doorsrespectively pivoted at the upper and lower margins of the opening, saiddoors meeting adjacent the apex of the hopper in overlapping relationwith the lower door supporting the upper door, means for moving andsupporting the doors including an operating shaft and a Y connectionfrom the shaft to the doors, said connection ineluding a chain connectedto the shaft and forked branches pivotally united with said chain andwith the respective doors, said forked branches including rigid linkmembers, the link member connected to the upper door having a slottedconnection whereby said upper door can be moved relative to said linkmember when said lower door is moved into supporting relation with theupper door.

2. In a railway ballasting car including beams of appreciable depthextending transversely of the car and spaced apart lengthwise of thecar, longitudinally extending V-shaped hoppers disposed between saidbeams, each hopper being located substantially in line with and over therails and each side of the hopper including upper and lower doors fordischarging to the sides of the rails, said upper doors, being hingedadiacent the upper part of the hopper and of a width to extend beyondthe transverse beams when the doors are in closed position, and saidlower doors being hinged adjacent the apex of the hopper and arranged tounderlie the extended portion of the upper doors in closed position,said lower doors being extended to project beyond the upper doors andbeneath the transverse beams and arranged to open to provide an inclinedshedding apex above the rails to divert lading away therefrom, and stopmeans cooperating with said beams and the projecting portions of thelower doors to support the same in opened position, said stop meansincluding headed hangers pivotally associated with the doors and stopson the beam for engaging with the headed portions of the hangers.

3. In a ballasting car including V-shaped discharge hoppers having theirapexes extending longitudinally above the rails, each side of saidhopper including a door pivoted adjacent the upper part of the hopperand a door pivoted adjacent the apex of the hopper and arranged tounderlie and support the upper door in closed position, the upper doorbeing wider than the lower door, and a link mechanism for operating saiddoors including a pair of rigid link members pivoted together at one endand at opposite ends pivoted to said doors adjacent their swingingedges, the link member pivoted to said upper door being shorter than theother link member and having a slotted connection to said upper door tocause differential movement of said doors.

4. In a ballasting car including V-shaped discharge hoppers having theirapexes extending longitudinally above the rails, each side of saidhopper including a door pivoted adjacent the upper part of the hopperand a door pivoted adjacent the apex of the hopper and arranged tounderlie and support the upper door in closed position, the upper doorbeing wider than the lower door, a link mechanism for operating saiddoors including a pair of rigid link members pivoted together at one endand at opposite ends pivoted to said doors adjacent their swingingedges, the link member pivoted to said upper door being shorter than theother link member and having a slotted connection to said upper door tocause differential movement of said doors, and a chain connected to saidlink members at their uniting pivotal axis for controlling the openingand closing of said doors.

5. In a railwa ballasting car including transversely extending beamsspaced apart lengthwise of the car, longitudinally extending V-shapedhoppers between said transverse beams having their apexes locatedsubstantially in line with and over the rails, each of said hoppershaving side walls each including an upper door pivoted adjacent theupper part of the hopper and a lower door pivoted adjacent the apex ofthe hopper, said lower doors being arranged to overlap said upper doorsadjacent the apex of the hopper, said lower doors being extendedlengthwise of the hopper beyond the upper doors and movable todownwardly inclined positions to form shedding planes for divertinglading away from the rails, lift means for raising said doors, and ahanger separate and distinct from said lift means mounted on each lowerdoor and cooperating with the beam individual thereto for supportingeach door in opened position independently of said upper doors.

6. In a railway ballasting car including transversely extending beams ofappreciable depth and spaced apart lengthwise of the car, longitudinallyextending V-shaped hoppers between said transverse beams, said hoppersbeing located substantially in line with and over the rails and eachside including upper and lower doors for discharging to the sides of therails, said upper doors being hinged adjacent the upper part of thehopper and of a width to extend beyond the transverse beams when thedoors are in closed position, said lower doors being hinged adjacent theapex of the hopper and arranged to underlie the extended portion of theupper doors and arranged to open to provide a diverting apex above therails, said lower doors being extended lengthwise beyond the upper doorsand beneath the transverse beams, lift means for raising said doors, andhangers separate and distinct from said lift means mounted on theextended portions of said lower doors and cooperating with said beamsfor supporting said lower doors in opened position independently of saidupper doors.

*1. In a ballasting car including V-shaped discharge hoppers havingtheir apexes extending longitudinally above the rails, each side of saidhopper including a door pivoted adjacent the upper part of the hopperand a door pivoted adjacent the apex of the hopper and arranged tounderlie and support the upper door in closed position, a shaft, andconnections from the shaft to the doors for operating said doors, saidconneotion being in the form of a Y including a chain connected to saidshaft to be wound thereon, and a pair of elongated rigid links pivotedtogether and connected to said chain at one end, one of said links beinglonger than the other and pivotally connected to the lower door to causedifferential movement of said doors, and a lost motion connectioninterconnecting said other link and said upper door.

In a ballasting car including a V-shaped discharge hopper, said hopperincluding in one of its sides a door hinged to the upper part of thehopper and a door hinged adjacent the apex of the hopper, said doorsbeing arranged to meet adjacent the lower portion of the hopper with thelower door supporting the upper door, shaft and link mechanism forsupporting the doors, said link mechanism including rigid link memberspivoted together at one end and at the opposite ends connected to thedoors, one or" said rigid link members being longer than the other andpivotally connecetd to the lower door to cause difierential movement ofsaid doors, a pin and slot connection interconnecting said other linkand said upper door, and a chain connected at one end to said shaft andat the opposite end to said link members at their uniting pivotal axis.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 648,884 Schoen et al May 1, 1900 1,064,448 Daniels June 10,1913 1,066,103 Gilman July 1, 1913 1,423,752 Burford et al July 25, 19221,706,353 Dorey Mar. 19, 1929 1,809,643 Small June 9, 1931

